Welcome to February, the month named after the Latin word februum, which means purification, and the one most recognized for Valentine’s Day; a day we often share affections of love with others.
The history of Valentine’s Day, St. Valentine, and the circumstances that surround the naming of February 14th as a day of romance are varied. A common thread amongst all the stories and rituals is the theme of love, marriage, fertility, and purification.1
I was fascinated to learn about the connection between February and purification, a word meaning:
- to free from guilt
- to free from foreign, extraneous, or objectionable elements
- to become pure
Reading these definitions, playful images of soaring hearts began flowing in my mind as if an internal locked memory box suddenly burst opened. Lost and forgotten valentines soared freely into the sky, love notes I dreamed of singing and expressing for myself and others, and a smile spontaneously appeared on my face.
Ah, to be free from guilt, from extraneous comments and beliefs of others, and remember the purity of my original self-expression. These forgotten valentines reflected my original notes of love that had been locked away until this moment. What a beautiful way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, remembering the love notes and our natural music held deep within ourselves.
Our Natural Music
Born into a strange unknown world, we all begin this journey of life dependent on others for our survival. We instinctually express feelings of comfort, pain, contentment, and joy through vocalized sound and bodily movements. The unique expressions of our natural music begin prior to our first breath or first cry, as we embody the various components of music; beginning with our heartbeat and continuing through our embodiment of sound, rhythm, melody, texture, dynamics, structure, and form.
As we grow, our natural music continues to be expressed through spontaneous laughter, instinctive singsongs, gentle humming of lullabies, and impulsive screaming. The joys and pain of life flow freely through these natural forms of musical communication.
At some point, most of us have experienced painful criticism and a shut-down of these uninhibited expressions. What happens to those feelings that desire to be shared? They often get repressed and held within our body, eventually affecting our physical, emotional, and mental health as well as our overall sense of well-being. 2
Life lessons vary as we continue to grow and learn discernment as to when, where, and how to express ourselves. Our natural music often changes to reflect those around us, and we forget our original love notes and authentic way of communicating and expressing ourselves.
Remembering Our Love Notes
How do we remember our love notes when they’re locked inside our memory boxes?
There isn’t a right or a wrong first step. For me, listening to music and allowing it to flow deep inside helps open the locks through a concept called sympathetic vibration. When we consciously listen to music, we’re allowing the energetic inspiration, intent, and frequencies of the musician who created the music to flow into our energetic space, activating those same frequencies within us. For example, if a musician was inspired to write a song about a painful experience in their life, then those feelings, energy, and frequencies flow through their music and sympathetically resonate or activate within the listener. If you are mourning the loss of a loved one or have just experienced a painful experience in your life, you may find yourself crying when you listen to that song as the energy within you begins to move.
Likewise, if you find yourself closed off from receiving love from others, listening to music inspired by compassion, connection, and feelings of unity may sympathetically resonate and open one of those symbolic internal locks, allowing you to experience the feelings of love flowing through the music.
Music helps to weave a tapestry of compassion within and around us as the vibrations of sound become threads of connection between musician and listeners. Like the strings of the harp, complete with high notes and low notes, we embody a full range of vibrational experiences, feelings, thoughts, beliefs, joys, and pain, all of which create the wholeness of who we are.
This year, it could be fun to celebrate Valentine’s Day as a day of purification, of remembering the purity of your original love notes,those unique vibrations of sound that only you can express.
~Amy
- Jainish Patel, Prittesh Patel (2019) Consequences of Repression of Emotion: Physical Health, Mental Health and General Well Being. International Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research – 1(3):16-21.
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Amy Camie is a spiritual harpist, inspirational speaker, recording artist, composer, Co-Initiator of The ORIGIN Method of Self-Discovery, and author of “Loving Life… All of It – A Walk with Cancer, Compassion, and Consciousness.” She loves empowering others through presentations and seminars on healing music, resonance, and conscious self-care.